Miracle At The 12th Precinct

CHAPTER 29

A Great Big Sled (by The Killers)

Disclaimer: The Castle characters belong entirely to ABC. Thank you, ABC.

Beckett insisted on sending a paramedic up to check on Kris who complained his ankle was bothering him again probably due to moving around too much during all the commotion. He was given an all clear, but instructed to remain at the loft and rest. Holly offered to stay behind to keep an eye on him. Castle promised to take care of Tommy and call them with any news.

Both Feds and uniforms took over the crime scene at the loft, and everyone gave their statements, which were carefully edited to exclude any mention of elves. Castle and Beckett accompanied the two Mangosa henchmen and Tommy Frost back to the station for processing.

When they arrived at the 12th, Jordan and her team were in the midst of questioning Edmondo and Drago Mangosa, who'd been hauled in earlier, and formally charged with conspiracy, racketeering; including extortion, money laundering, loan sharking, obstruction of justice, and bribery. Additionally, Drago was charged with assault & battery, attempted homicide, kidnapping as well as spearheading the failed campaign to kidnap Kris at the hospital where he'd stayed. Further charges were pending as the case was still under investigation.

Surprisingly, BB had kept hidden some very thorough personal records over the years and Jordan took great pleasure in telling both Mangosa brothers of its existence. Although they each were on the verge of exploding, neither said a word thanks to the advice of their team of fancy lawyers.

Meanwhile, Esposito and Ryan worked closely with Agent Barnes to track down the location of Salvatore Ianuzzi, their suspected bomber.

Castle and Beckett met with Tommy Frost, eagerly agreeing to tell them his side of the story.

"Why'd you run?" Beckett asked once they'd gotten settled in.

"I was an idiot." He replied. "They say hindsight is 20/20 and it's true. But at the time I didn't know what else to do." Tommy defended. "I was afraid, and all I knew for certain was that the woman I love would be safer if I wasn't anywhere in the general vicinity. Running seemed like the only logical solution."

"You should have gone to the police. We could have protected you. That would have been a much better solution." Beckett argued.

"Yes, well…BB and Vinny, highly recommended against it. They assured me they had people on the inside who would know if I talked and said when they found out they'd go after my family. Besides, had I come to you the scenario would have most likely went something like this…'Hello, I'm an elf, from the North Pole and the mob is after me because my insane mother drove over their leader with Santa's stolen flying sled.' Forgive me, but I was doubtful you'd believe me. Also, I'd already tarnished Santa's memory with my bad behavior. Disappearing seemed like the right answer."

Beckett was determined to pull whatever semblance of truth she could from the crap she was being fed today. She clicked her pen and prepared to take notes. "I want the whole story, Tommy – from beginning to end and just so we're clear, make it the truth."

If it was the truth she wanted, he'd give it to her. "Alright. If you insist. From the beginning then…At first I was thrilled with the prospect of a vacation of sorts - I was bored out of my mind. It can get very lonely for a single elf up at the North Pole. A few weeks in the Big Apple sounded like a wonderful adventure and just what I needed. Maybe you've already heard, but trouble tends to follow me, and I think everyone back home was relieved I'd be otherwise occupied for a while. My aunt and mother arranged for me to accompany my Uncle Kris on his trip. They really didn't give me much choice. Nevertheless, I was excited to go. I'd been missing something in my life - thought maybe I'd find it down here. That something turned out to be Holly – the love of my life."

"That's sweet, but how did you come to be involved with the mob?"

"Multiple bad decisions, really. Elves don't get paid much and I needed money. I made a few bets…" He hedged, until Kate gave him the stink-eye. "Okay, numerous bets, and quickly got in over my head. A man we worked with, Drucker, introduced me to his friends, Bernie and Vinny. They repaid my debts on the condition I was to pay them back - with interest. From there things went rapidly downhill. Believe me when I say I had no idea what I was getting myself into or I would have stopped gambling right then and there."

"Didn't you realize they were mobsters?" Kate said, interrupting. "Of course, there'd be trouble."

"At first I didn't, no." He replied. "I'm told I can be somewhat naïve - I thought they were…colorful characters. By the time I figured out just how colorful, it was too late. I was too proud to ask for help with my gambling problem, and when I could only make partial payments they began harassing me and threatened to harm my uncle, Timmy, and then eventually they found out about Holly. I was beaten senseless by them to prove how far they'd be willing to go. Uncle Kris can confirm that. Then BB came up with a plan for me to repay them."

"What did he ask you to do?"

"BB gave me a small electronic device, told me I was to obtain billing information from customers at the exhibit I was working at, and then I was supposed to hand over the device to him. Of course I refused at first, but BB can be quite unreasonable; threatened to sic his partner, Vinny The Ox, on me to finish me off. Then he'd have him hunt down the rest of my family. Have you met Vinny? I rather believed him, therefore I agreed to do what I was told."

"Speaking of Vinny…was he also in on the scam?"

"At first I thought he was, but then later I discovered he hadn't known the first thing about it. Turns out it was all BB's idea. I probably should have known; Vinny was never around when it was discussed. Vinny seemed genuinely surprised when he found out. Which brings us upon…the incident. As if my bad situation wasn't bad enough already, it became decidedly worse once mother singlehandedly took out Carlos Mangosa, their boss at the time. I know she was only trying to save me, but what does it say about the woman that the first selfless act I can ever recall her doing for me backfires so spectacularly?"

Kate dreaded asking, but it was her job. "Please describe exactly what incident you are referring to."

Tommy studied her a moment. Clearly, Detective Beckett was a non-believer. But he had promised to be truthful. Dare he tell her everything? Hesitating, he looked to Castle for support. "My, this is quite a pickle, isn't it? She won't believe a word of it, will she?"

"Probably not." Castle agreed. "But still, you owe it to her."

"Hello?" Beckett said, interrupting their private conversation. "I'm sitting right here. How about you both let me decide for myself what I do or do not believe?"

"Yes, of course. You're right. Apologies." Tommy nodded. "The incident I'm referring to is the night BB, Vinny, and Carlos kidnapped me. Because of the money I owed. They said that's what happened to people who tried to cheat them. I asked for more time to pay them back, but Carlos refused to give me an extension. I couldn't pay up so they tossed me into the back of their car, blindfolded me, and then knocked me out. When I came to it was dark and we were in the middle of a vast field. Honestly, I thought I was done for until out of nowhere mother came flying in on my uncle's sleigh to rescue me. She flew right into poor old Carlos, grabbed me, and then we took off. She dropped me off on the rooftop of our building and then in true fashion, having left destruction in her wake, made herself scarce. From that day forward, BB and Vinny were relentless. They watched my every move, anxiously awaiting her return, continuously threatening me and my family if she didn't come forward and take responsibility for what had happened. While BB seemed mainly concerned with getting his scanner back, Vinny was intent on finding my mother, avenging their boss' death. Apparently, the big ox was rather fond of his dearly departed leader and took the loss quite hard. Not that I can really blame him. The man had died a grisly death right before his eyes. Mother's aim was spot on."

Beckett slowly turned to Castle to gauge his reaction which turned out to be exactly as she'd expected. His elbow rested on the table, his fist balled up and covering his lips to prevent him from commenting. The lines around his eyes were crinkled, and she could make out his dimples. It was likely killing him to keep quiet. Castle was bemused beyond belief. She sighed, not knowing what else to say. There was no way the court, or Gates, or anyone else would ever believe Tommy's story about how Carlos Mangosa died. Even if his version matched Vinny's to the letter. "Okay…let's come back to that later and instead talk about the credit card scanning device. Did you use it?" Kate asked.

"No. I couldn't bring myself to do it, but BB never knew that." He admitted. "I kept making excuses for not returning it to him, which infuriated him to say the least. After numerous delays I finally told him I'd lost the darn thing when in reality I was planning to turn it over, discretely, to someone I'd met connected to the authorities. I was reluctant to talk to my uncle about what was going on, but Timmy, he was always the smart one. He figured out on his own what I was up to, confronted me, and then convinced me to store the device in safekeeping until we could agree on someone we both trusted to help us. There were two men we met that seemed up for the job, but unfortunately not enough time to follow through on it. Things spun quickly out of control. Timmy never even told me where he'd hidden it. Wherever did you find it?"

"Sewn into the lining of your uncle's suit." Beckett replied.

"Clever boy, that Timmy. I still can't believe he's gone. He shouldn't be. It should have been me. He'd never done a bad thing his entire life. I wish I could say the same. It's a burden I will bare for the rest of my days. I intend to honor his memory by being the person he always told me I could be."

"Did Holly know what you were up to?"

"No. I kept her in the dark to protect her. She had nothing at all to do with this. You must believe me. Her wrath would have been far more dangerous than the mob's. Although not being honest with her is yet another mistake I'll also be paying for in the years to come, I assure you. She only became suspicious when I showed up to work with cuts and bruises at which point I was forced to tell her about my gambling and debt."

"Is that why BB showed up at Macy's and threatened you? We have it on camera." Castle explained at his look of surprise.

"Yes, well, that delightful visit from BB wasn't about the money or finding mother or even the device. It was about something entirely different. He wanted to know where a weapon belonging to him had gone and for some absurd reason he believed I'd stolen it as a form of leverage. I've never so much as laid hands on a gun in my life. I can't imagine why he would even think such a thing. Elves are incredibly opposed to violence. Regardless, he was out of his mind with rage and accused me of lying. That's when I became convinced that Timmy had been right; something had to be done. The time had come to expose them."

"What happened after you left work the day of the explosion?" Kate asked.

"I took a cab, alone, back to our apartment to gather my things. I'd been planning on going over to Holly's for a few hours until my uncle cooled down. After work we'd argued and he'd expressed his unhappiness with my behavior to say the least. Some space seemed in order. Unfortunately, when I stepped out of the cab, BB and The Ox kidnapped me again. They pulled me into their car, gagged me, and then Vinny knocked me out, yet again. Makes one wonder if I continued to make so many poor decisions due to the numerous hits to my head."

"Where did they take you?"

"To the back storeroom of a tavern, if I have to guess. When I awakened I was in a small room with a door leading out into an alleyway. They'd tied me to a chair. The room was filthy, smelled of stale beer mixed with vomit. I heard muffled sounds of music and voices coming from another room, upfront, I suspect, but except for BB and Vinny, no one else came into the room with us. BB told me my time was up. I'd never been so scared in my life…"

BB slowly circled around Tommy as Vinny stood close by, cracking his knuckles, watching. "Listen up, munchkin." BB said. "Unless you want to see something real unpleasant happen to that peach of a gargantuan girlfriend of yours, or your pal Timmy and the old man, you'll do as I say. We want your old lady and we want her now. We're done with the waiting. More importantly – Drago's done waiting. Now where the hell is she?"

They were both angry, but Tommy could see it was BB who was on the verge of completely losing it. "Don't forget about your gun, BB." Vinny reminded him, which only infuriated him more.

"Right." BB agreed, grabbing Tommy by the collar, lifting both him and the chair off the ground. "Yeah. And I want my fucking gun back!" He yelled into Tommy's face before releasing his hold on him, causing the chair to slam harshly back to the ground. BB turned back to Vinny, "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." Vinny replied.

"They've a rather strange dynamic, those two." Tommy commented. "At this point, I begged of them not to harm my family. I swore I'd been truthful; I didn't know where Mother was and I knew nothing of the gun he'd referred to. I tried explaining that Mother was a free spirit who pops in and out at the snap of her fingers, but they'd hear none of it. They'd never see reason with their closed up little minds, which quite frankly was surprising considering everything they'd witnessed the night of their boss' unfortunate demise. My blood boiled; I'd never been so filled with rage. Retribution for what I'd done was one thing, but allowing them to hurt Holly, the best thing that had ever happened to me, or Timmy, who was like a brother, or the only father I'd really ever known was another thing altogether…"

As BB paced the room like an enraged, caged animal, panic mixed with a surge of adrenaline fueled Tommy. He knew he had to do something. He struggled to break free from the ropes binding his wrists, nearly toppling over the chair in the process. The Ox grabbed hold of the chair and smacked Tommy hard across the mouth, the sting coursing through his veins.

"You're gonna wanna shut up and listen to him kid." Vinny said. "Or I'll be forced to do something I don't really want to do. Now mind you, I've got nothin' against elves - I'd like to think I ain't no judge of no alternative lifestyle, however, that being said - I will finish you. So do yourself a favor and tell us where the hell she is."

There was no one to help Tommy. No one. And he couldn't leave to warn the others because after Santa had found out about his despicable behavior he'd grounded him for the rest of their stay in New York - not that Tommy could blame him, ashamed as he was. Unfortunately, the grounding left him powerless, no longer able to disappear into thin air; a power all elves have from birth. Once again, Tommy thought he was done for, but then BB said he needed a drink. He and Vinny left through another door, leaving Tommy alone in the room. It was his one chance to escape, so he took it.

"I'd never been so angry." Tommy said. "I was solely focused on breaking free. I had to warn my uncle, Timmy, and Holly. And that's when the most miraculous thing happened. Still tied to the chair, wrists bound tightly behind my back, I struggled to break free from my restraints. Nothing surprised me more than when it actually began to work. At first, I thought my sheer will and determination made them give way. After all, I'd been grounded. I believed I had no powers to speak of. Until I realized what was actually happening…I was shrinking. It was me changing, not the ropes loosening. Sure, there were others back home blessed with the gift, but not me, not until now. Quite remarkable, really. The angrier and more focused I became, the more I shrunk in size. It didn't take long at all. Eventually, I climbed down, made my escape and rushed towards home as fast as my wee little legs could carry me."

"Tommy, did BB or Vinny ever talk about a bomb?" Castle asked, changing the subject, and breaking the silence in the room since Beckett seemed to have forgotten the English language.

"No. Nothing of the sort or I would have called the police the moment I escaped. Never in a million years did I suspect they'd go as far as to blow up the building. Knowing them, I find it rather hard to believe they could pull off such a feat. Even together, they're no Einstein. I'd made it as far as the stairwell of the apartment building when the explosion occurred. I managed to make my way into our apartment, but I was too late. I found my uncle and Timmy both lying there, in the rubble, neither of them breathing. Timmy lay in a puddle of blood. I believed them both dead. I was devastated. When I heard sirens, I panicked and ran. I ran and ran and kept right on running. I'd hoped, at the very least, Holly would be safe if I vanished forever…."

"Castle, can I speak to you privately - outside?" Beckett asked, getting up from her chair, prepared to leave the room.

"Sure." He replied.

Tommy reached for Castle's arm, stopping him. "I'm not delusional, Mr. Castle. It happened I tell you."

Castle nodded back. "I know. I'll talk to her." He'd have to use all his powers of persuasion to help convince Beckett that Tommy was telling the truth.

Leaving Tommy alone to ponder the repercussions of his actions, Castle followed Beckett out of the room. He started in as soon as the door shut. "So, what do you think? You believe him, right? Even you have to admit it's pretty wild how closely his story matches up with Vinny's version."

His excitement level had registered a ten, like it was Christmas and his birthday all rolled into one. She couldn't ignore his questions if she tried. But try, she would. She headed towards the bullpen.

He hurried to catch up, betting she could run a marathon in heels if she put her mind to it. "Come on, Beckett, I want to know what you think."

"About what, Castle?" She asked, rolling her eyes. "You mean all the nonsense Tommy sprouted about his mother and the flying sled, and his little disappearing trick?

"Yes!" He replied.

She came to a complete stop, he nearly bumped into her. She pretended to ponder her answer. "Hmmm, what do I think? What do I think, you ask?" She stood face to face with him; up close and personal. "What I think …is that they're all drinking from the same Kool-Aid, is what I think. And no matter how many of them retell the same crazy story of how Carlos Mangosa bit the dust, there is no way in hell Gates or the Feds will ever buy it. They'd laugh it out of court, Castle." He appeared unconvinced. With each point she made she held up one finger at a time. "First. People cannot shrink at will. They can however, manage to escape their captors if so motivated. Second. There's no murder weapon, which in this case is an alleged flying sled no one can locate. And third…well, there is no third… because even if we found this alleged sled there's no such thing as a flying sled." She abruptly turned on her heel, leaving him behind as she picked up the pace once again.

He refused to let it go and followed her, gently taking hold of her arm, effectively stopping her while they were still well out of earshot from the boys who were both working at their desks. "Wait! I know it sounds crazy, but even you can't deny that the similarities in their stories are uncanny." His voice rose an octave. "How do you explain all of that?"

"I can't. But then again all I'm after is the truth. And if those truths just so happen to be surrounded by a big old load of BS then I'm responsible for shoveling through it until I'm left only with the facts. The facts, Castle. That's what really matters. The rest is all, well…fairy tales."

Sometimes they were so fundamentally different it worried him down to his very core. "Do you think there will ever come a time when you'll let yourself believe in things you can't explain?" He asked, frowning.

She hated when he pouted and it didn't take a genius to know what was bothering him. She took a deep breath. "Honestly - probably not, Castle. But I can promise you this - I'll keep trying." She looked around to ensure no one was paying any attention to them and tried for less blunt, her voice more intimate. "Besides, every now and again...who doesn't love a good fairy tale? Even me, Castle." The palm of her hand grazed his chest, then she dropped it to her side remembering where they were. "Look. I know what you're thinking. We're so different. How can this – us - possibly work?" He didn't deny it. "But it will, Castle. So what if we're different? Part of your charm is that you're a dreamer. So what if I'm not? We complement each other. That's what makes us interesting. We'll never be boring."

She said she was willing to keep trying; baby steps, but he'd take it. And her optimism cheered him up immensely. Well, that and the way she was looking at him with that secret smile of hers; like she'd take him right there on her desk if she could. He shared the sentiment, but put his hands in his pockets to keep from pulling her in for a kiss. When she smiled at him like that his troubles faded away. It was a feeling he could get used to. He nodded his acknowledgement while trying to avoid looking at her lips. Satisfied that he believed they'd work through their differences she refocused on her job and headed straight for Espo and Ryan to give them an update.

"Paperwork, Castle..." She called out from over her shoulder. "You coming, or not?"

He watched her from afar, amazed at how easily she slipped back into detective-mode, confident she'd gotten at least one thing right – they'd never be boring. He'd let it go for now, but also knew he'd never give up trying to convince her to believe in magic. He vowed to someday, preferably before they were old and gray, share with her all he'd learned over the past few days. She caught him staring and raised a brow, her silent signal that it was time to get back to work.

Then again, maybe he'd just tell their kids…